MOBERLY – A veteran will receive a free vehicle Sunday at the fourth annual Vienna Nationals at Moberly Motorsports Park.
Proceeds from the event benefit the Cars 4 Heroes organization, which provides vehicles to veterans who cannot afford one due to poor credit due to unemployment, family problems or other life circumstances.
“We have partnered with the Vienna Nationals to present a vehicle to a veteran,” said Terry Franz, one of the founders of Cars 4 Heroes.
Franz founded the organization together with Mike Van Noy.
Franz has provided free vehicles to veterans and first responders in 22 states.
Veterans must present a DD214, which serves as proof of their honorable service. Having a car allows veterans to drive to work, take their children to school or just run errands, Franz said.
“We don’t see the cars we give to veterans as gifts, but as tools,” Franz said. “They give them a chance to function in society.”
However, Franz does not claim all the credit for himself. He thanks the public and the communities that have provided vehicles to the organization.
“I remember a story where a mother looked at her eight-year-old daughter and said, ‘Well, Katrina, we can now go to the store and get what we want instead of just what we can wear.’ And that’s just something you don’t think about,” Franz said.
This year’s winner of the car is a woman who served at the University of Missouri in Columbia and completed ROTC training.
The Vienna Nationals feature dirt track races with newer MLRA cars and POWRi cars from the Trophy Tuesday series.
The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile will serve as the lead vehicle.
